


Yours Without Asking

by orphan_account



Category: Dancing with the Stars (US) RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-08 05:34:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4292670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based off of an anon’s prompt where Zendaya is in the studio working with Diane Warren and she realizes that the love she is singing about applies to Val in a less than platonic way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Yours Without Asking

**Author's Note:**

> This is fiction, not reality.

“I promise to call you tomorrow afternoon, but I really have to go now,” Zendaya said as she bounced down the steps leading to her in-house studio in the basement. “She’s going to be here in a few minutes.”

“I still can’t believe you’re working with Diane Warren, Z,” Val answered. "That is  _huge._ ”

“I know.” She let the enthusiasm seep into her voice. Zendaya had worked with Diane the night before and couldn’t get over how wise the woman was. She was able to thread words together in order to create realistic and meaningful lyrics that were poignant and relatable. “She’s brilliant, Val. I can’t wait for you to get back so you can hear what we worked on last night.”

“I can’t wait either.” He paused before reluctantly adding, “I should let you go.” 

Zendaya twisted her mouth, the regretful line of it reflected back at her in the pane of glass between the recording booth and the control room. She knew that she needed to hang up the phone, but it was always so difficult to convince herself of that when they were separated. She had come to rely on him a great deal in the nearly two and a half years that she had known him. 

“Okay,” she agreed, despite something deep within her that desperately wanted to keep talking to him. But he had to get ready for the wedding and she had to warm up.

“Okay,” he repeated. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, beautiful. Can’t wait to hear all about how tonight goes.”

“I won’t leave anything out,” she promised. “Give my love to everyone and tell them that I wish I was there to celebrate with them.”

“Will do. Night, Zendayachka.”

“Night, Val.”

The screen on her phone went dark as the call was ended and she was filled with a sudden sense of loss. Zendaya understood that they were both incredibly busy, but in the moments when they were apart she couldn’t help but hate how driven they were as individuals. She clenched her fingers around the device, trying to gain control over her emotions. She was fine; they had been separated for longer periods of time than the few months the tour lasted and soon he would be back in LA and working just down the block from her. They would be together soon enough. Even as the encouraging words ran through her head, she knew that they were failing to convince her heart. 

_And where the hell had_ that  _thought come from?_

“Am I interrupting?” 

Zendaya spun around in time to see Diane come through the studio door. Her expression was casually curious, although Zendaya knew, even in her limited relationship with the woman, that she wouldn’t press for details. 

“No, just finishing up a conversation.” 

Diane nodded her understanding. “Your parents let me in. Charlie’s on his way, but it sound like it’s just you and me for now.” She dropped her shoulder bag onto the floor and sat down before looking over at Zendaya. “You ready to pick up where we left off?”

“Absolutely,” Zendaya answered, trying to shake off the remnants of the peculiar emotions that had overtaken her earlier. 

She laid her phone on the table and pulled out the lyrics for the song they had been working on the night before. Making her way into the booth, Zendaya glanced over the markings she had made denoting a tempo shift, a flux in volume, a change of note.  She put on her headphones, sidled up to the microphone, and laid the sheet on a music stand positioned in front of her. 

“Let’s pick it up from the top and run through it a few times just to refresh ourselves on what we’re aiming for,” Diane said. 

Zendaya nodded her approval before waiting for the music to start. She sang the words on the page, giving them life as her voice carried them on the air. For some reason, something felt familiar - and not just because she had been working on the song before. Familiar in that...she felt like she understood the lyrics in a personal way. But there was no way that could be true; she had never even been in love before. 

She shook the thought off as she had done the previous night, trying to concentrate when Diane reminded her of a few changes they had made. As she reset the music so they could run through it again, Zendaya took in the lyrics in front of her. Reading down the page, a niggling sense of awareness wound its way through her. The feeling that had overtaken her while singing was familiar because it was the same swirl of emotions that had overwhelmed her during and shortly after her conversation with Val. 

But that was crazy. This was a love song and she didn’t  _love -_ well, she  _did,_ but...

She paused. Did she  _love_ Val? Not in a platonic way, but in a  _romantic_ way? 

She tried to laugh it off, but as she sang through the medley a second time even more of it seemed to resonate with her. He was her rock, the one person that she knew she could lean on and knew, without a doubt, would never let her break. He knew her better than anyone - even better than she sometimes knew herself. Even in the midst of important career opportunities, she had sacrificed a few things in order to perform with him in Sway. She had always taken the time out of her busy schedule in order to support him in everything, including his clothing line, the dance studio, and each of his partners. When they were on the same coast, she always tried her best to set aside time to spend with him. It didn’t matter what they were doing; as long as she was with him, she was happy.  And when they were apart, she always felt as though a part of her was missing.

But that was all natural for them. It had been like that from the very beginning and she certainly hadn’t  _loved_ him all along...or had she? 

Although Val had been disappointed when he was paired with her, neither of them could deny that they had clicked almost instantly. Their lives had immediately started intertwining, both through personal and professional avenues. Her friends had become his friends and vice versa. Somewhere along the way, he had become her confidante, her partner, and her best friend. He wasn’t just a part of her family; he  _was_ her family. They were practically inseparable when they were together and both tended to be fairly miserable, to some extent, when they were apart. She could no longer imagine her life without him in it. Taking all of that into account, she couldn’t simply write it off as the usual partnership from Dancing with the Stars, as many of the partnerships dissolved once their season ended.  So…if what they had wasn’t that, then what was it?

She remembered the poisonous jealousy that ran through her veins in the first couple of seasons after hers.  She had gone to support him, to support his partners, but had felt somewhat green when watching him dance with other women.  That had subsided, for the most part, but there were still moments where it plagued her.  But didn’t someone often become slightly covetous when their friend found someone new to spend time with? Wasn’t that normal? But the word friendship wasn’t a completely accurate representation for what they had either.

She catalogued all of the things they had done over the years. Rehearsals alone, dinner without Maks as a buffer, a trip to Disneyland, movies on the couch, meals with their friends and families, Nutella eating contests, graduation parties, birthday parties, eating lunch in between rehearsal and filming, Christmas tree shopping, bowling with her fellow cast and crew members. A lot of it was random and silly…but thinking back on each moment created a lump in her throat.  They were simple in nature, many of which were every day occurrences, but they meant so much to her.  Even the most mundane was special because she had experienced it with _him._

_I’m yours without asking._  

The line jumped out to her as she sang it and a burst of confusion and fear bubbled up inside of her. Had she fallen in love with him without even knowing it, without even trying?

“Z, why don’t you come out and listen to this for a minute?” Diane’s voice brought her back to herself, reminding her that she was supposed to be paying attention. She left the booth, more than a little disoriented as the revelation worked its way into her consciousness. Her phone vibrated as she listened, making note of certain aspects of the music and conferring with Diane on a few of them. Absentmindedly, she reached over and swiped her finger across the screen. 

Val had texted her a picture of him sitting with Alex at a small table, a drink sitting in front of each of them. He was dressed in a suit, the jacket still on for the moment, although she didn’t imagine that it would stay on for long. Not because he didn’t necessarily want to wear it, but because he always sweated so much in them. Fabric that had once formed a bow hung loose around his neck. Even slightly rumpled, he looked effortlessly sophisticated. 

Beneath the photo, Val had written _Alex is good company, but we both miss our Zendayachka._

Zendaya felt her heart jump up into her throat and, although she was sitting down, felt as though her legs had been knocked out from beneath her. 

_She was in love with Val._

 


End file.
